Delivery

• Today, drones are being used for delivery services in various parts of the world. For instance, retailers are using drones to deliver goods to their customers. One of the companies at the front of this innovative use of drones is Amazon.
• Zipline also uses drones to deliver medical services and equipment in remote geographical areas of Africa. In 2019, the company launched the largest drone delivery network in the continent after adding Ghana to its grid.
• Drone delivery services are both innovative and disruptive. Unlike vehicle or air delivery, using drones is cheaper, faster, and safer. Using drones for delivery is also a new application still to be embraced by many companies.
• Flytrex is an Israel-based company creating cloud-connected drones designed for delivery. The company is also creating a platform for use by delivery firms or large retailers seeking to use drones. Moreover, Flytrex is developing drone hardware designed for point-to-area or point-to-point delivery.

Agriculture

• Drones application in the agriculture industry has already gained traction in areas such as analyzing soil samples, monitoring farmland, and herding cattle.
• Today, drones are being used to pollinate flowers amid the declining bee population. Insect-sized drones are being made in the labs to replicate bees’ role in pollination. Dropcopter, a New York-based startup company, has also been testing aerial drone pollination in New York City and San Francisco areas.
• Other innovative uses in agriculture include cultivation, harvesting, and planting. Planting drones are mainly used to plant trees by dispersing germinated seedpods.
• Using drones in agriculture is innovative because it marks a new use of drone technology in the field. Although drones have been used in agriculture to perform functions such as monitoring crop growth, their use has expanded to include more complex functions such as planting and pollination.
• PrecisionHawk produces drones for use in agriculture. The company’s Lancaster fixed-wing drone is the most intelligent fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed for agriculture.

Weather Forecasting

• Today, drones are offering a versatile option of following weather patterns as they unfold. Besides aerial vehicles, water-based unmanned surface vehicles are revolutionizing how data is gathered.
• Oceanic researchers are using autonomous sea drones to help them predict extreme weather and comprehend the changing weather patterns in the globe.
• Use of drones in weather forecasting is disruptive because it is changing how the meteorological sector works. The sector is moving away from using stationary structures or geospatial imaging solutions to collect data on weather patterns by embracing the use of drones.
• Saildrone has designed an autonomous sailboat that gathers atmospheric and oceanic data from the sea surface. The 23-foot-long drones are fitted with sensors that gather and send real-time data on metrics such as humidity, temperature wind, weather patterns, and solar radiation.

Energy Infrastructure Inspection

• The infrastructure used to extract, refine, and ferry oil and gas needs constant inspection to ensure compliance with standards and regulations. Such inspection is being done safely and remotely using drones.
• Drones being used for inspections are fitted with special thermal sensors capable of finding leaks faster than a manual inspection. The drones also have high-resolution cameras that facilitate remote identification of some faults.
• Using drones for energy infrastructure inspection is disruptive. Instead of using human-led inspection, the energy industry is now relying on drone technology because it is faster and efficient.
•  Sky-Futures produces drones for oil and gas inspections. Many of the globe’s largest oil companies use Sky-Future’s drones to inspect their offshore oil rigs.

Racing

• Besides professional use, drones today are being used as a form of entertainment. Drone racing and combat events are common as the sport gains popularity. Pilots guide drones through high-speed obstacle courses where the winner is awarded a monetary prize.
•  The Drone Racing League manages and promotes drone racing in the US and across the globe. MultiGP also organizes drone-racing championship in the US. The company has local chapters across the country.
• Use of drones for racing is innovative because it marks an inventive way of using drone technology for recreation and entertainment.
• Walkera is a Guangzhou City, China-based drone manufacturer. Although the company produces other drone models, it has been focusing more on racing drones lately.